The Will of God

Maxim of Brother Lawrence: 2. We must believe steadfastly that such difficulties

are for our own good; that it is God's will that we

should be afflicted; that it is according to divine

providence that we should be subject to all kinds of

conditions, to suffer all kinds of chastening, of woe and

of temptation, for the love of God and for so long as

He pleases: there can be no true devotion and perfection

without such submission of the heart and mind to the will of God.

that it is God's will... There are people who have a fatalist attitude about life, giving up to the whim and winds of circumstance with the excuse that "it's the will of God." I get short-tempered with this. Especially if it goes on for too long. I know God created us with feet and hands and minds to work our way through life; to move elsewhere if the place we are is dangerous or stifling or full of temptation. If life were random there would be no hope for me. I take comfort in believing that there is a greater Good watching out for me and wanting the best for me. and I believe that the best for me may be working through some tough things.  It helps me to do my best and to have a grateful attitude when life hands me lemons. Of course distance always helps my perspective. 
There is also God's will in beauty and grace and surprise as well. Joyce Rupp, a person who wrote a book about her walk of the Camino Santiago, asked herself some questions each day of the trail. One of them was to identify the surprises. Since reading her book I have asked myself this question (among others). Here is a list of the surprises I have noted over the past weeks...

Tues: how well my hair looked when I just did it quickly knowing we had 25 mph breezes to contend with that day. and two people even complimented me on it! On my walk that day I counted 11 blackbirds sitting in the top of a tree. 
Mon: that Pope Benedict turned in his resignation.
Sun: that my husband actually paid attention to the homily and had a lot to say about it
Sat: I took a chance and purchased a piece of art in a refurbished cigarette machine at an art museum. It was a domino necklace and I had a lot of fun wearing it all that day.
Fri: after two years of grumbling because I can no longer run I actually had fun swimming laps in our school pool.  

On these same days I asked what I least enjoyed about the day and what gave me the most discomfort...

Tues:I bought a Dairy Queen cake and attempted to eat all of it by myself 
Mon:I made a really good vegetarian recipe dinner (Greek Potatoes) and no one in our house said a word about it. And I came home from a meeting to a sink full of dirty dishes and I had to clean up the kitchen or wake up to the same thing the next morning. This is a bad start to my day. I seldom do that. 
Sun: I was so impatient with the music and the pastor and the homily and the repetition I could hardly sit still for the slowness of it all. Ieven left right after Communion and  people who do that make me mad.
Sat: Going to the Carmelite meeting was a chore for me. I did not feel graced to be there. I was bugged that the guy sitting next to me mumbled when he spoke and people constantly shifted off topic on their own agendas. I was impatient.
Fri: I had to tell someone some bad family news. and she didn't take it well. She had all of the arguments and denials I had months ago and it was painful to listen to it. 

God has created great beauty in this world and His people are part of His creation.  They can be people of compliments or people of repetition and mumbles. God has given me a mind sharp enough to cut through the delivery and get to the gem. I get pretty busy thinking about myself and my time and my space and the lessons and gifts can be lost. Doesn't make the gift, the will of God any less valuable beacuse I look at it with a lemon flavored eye. 

Well nuts. I have a sink full of dishes to tackle. Trekking Catholic.